Registering and trimming of printing plates



Aug. 1, 147.

I. TORNBERG Ei' AL REGISTERING AND TRIMMING OF PRINTING PLATES 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nbv. 4, .1943

V INVENTORS /M T BY M 1. 2M, @M Mmr ATTORNEYS Aug. 12, 1947. 1. TORNBERG ET AL REGISTERING AND TRIMMING OF PRINTING PLATES Filed Nov., 4, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.5-

' ATTORNEYS 1947. TORNBERG ET AL 2,425,580

REGISTERING AND TRIMMING OF PRINTING PLATES Filed Nov. 4. 194a 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 I I M Q @L Q i $1 I i I A TTORNE Y5 1947- 1. TORNBERG El AL 2,425,580.

REGISTERING AND TRIMMING OF PRINTING PLATES Filed Nov. 4, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEYS A 0 0 .N 0 E WMMM W 0 m .M 0 Q, I m M 0 i 1 m u Au 12, 1947. l. TORNBERC-i ET AL ,5

REGISTERING AND TRIWING OF PRINTING PLATES 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INLENTORJ ATTORNEYS Aug. 12, 1947. 1. T'QRNBERG ET Al.

REGISTERING AND TRIMMING OF PRINTING PLATES Filed Nov. 4, 1943 s Sheets-She s A TTORNE YS Patented Aug. 12, 1947 REGISTERING AND TRIMMING OF PRINTING PLATES Isidor Tornberg and Charles L. Ricards, Plainfield, N. J., assignors to Wood Newspaper Machinery Corporation, lTlainfield, N. J., a corporation of Virginia Application November 4, 1943, Serial No. 508,914

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improved apparatus for registering and trimming plates for use on printing presses.

In color printing, a plurality of plates are used to print each cut, each of several plates being inked with a different color. It is necessary that such plates be in exact registry to avoid multiple impressions, blurring and off-color in the printed reproduction. Prior to the present invention, such registry has been sought or approximated by a trial and error method in which two of the plates are placed on the impression cylinders of the press, proof is run and examined, one of the plates is re-set in an efiort to correct mis-registry and the procedure is repeated with the remaining plates in turn. Color printing ordinarily requires four plates, and the time during which press equipment and personnel are tied up by this trial and error procedure is considerable. In some cases, this procedure reveals that one or more of the plates cannot be brought intoregistry and must be made again, after which the work of aligning or attempting to register the new plate or plates must be repeated. The previously known procedure not only consumes time and ties up equipment, but leaves much to be desired as regards the registry finally obtained.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine for so trimming plates for use on printing presses that they are brought into registry before being placed on the printing press cylinders. A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character in which both registering and trimming of each of the several plates is accomplished on a single machine or station without handling or conveying the plate between operations of registering and trimming. A further object is the provision of a machine of the type indicated employing simple and rugged trimming mechanism in conjunction with accurate and easily operated mechanism for bringing the plates into registry. Another object of the invention is the provision of a plate registering and trimming machine so constructed and arranged that all of the operations and observations essential to plate registering and trimming can be made by a single operator. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a typical embodiment thereof.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which a typical embodiment of our improved plate registering and trimming machine has been illustrated, In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevation of a machine embodying the invention, taken along the line ll of Fig. 3 and shown on a reduced scale;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine with the cover and the plate holding straps omitted;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the plate trimming and registering cylinder and associated apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the trimming and registering mechanism taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a part of the mechanism for circumferentially adjusting the plate carrying cylinder, taken along the line 5-5 of Fig.

Fig. 6 is a front end elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3;

Figs. '7, 8 and 9 are respectively sectional views taken along the lines 'l'l, 88 and 99 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 10 is a rear end elevation of the drive mechanism taken along the line Ill-lilof Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the disclosed embodiment of the invention includes a unit box type frame I I having an angularly disposed elongated mechanism compartment l2 at its upper end. The frame II is hollow and carries a chip pan [3 accessible through a door I4 adjacent its lower end. The lower end of the compartment l2 constitutes the front of the machine where the operator stands, and a switch l5 for controlling themachine driving motor l6 may be conveniently disposed on the frame ll just beneath the front end of the mechanism compartment l2.

In general, the frame compartment l2 contains a printing plate carrying cylinder ll disposed over and supported by a carrier I3 (Fig. 4) together with mechanism for adjusting the cylinder circumferentially relative to the carrier and axially with the carrier, and mechanism for trimming both of the end edges and one side edge of the printing plate 21 carried by the cylinder. The cylinder I1 and carrier iii are disposed with their common axis at about 30 to the horizontal, as shown in Fig. 1. This permits the operator when standing in front of the machine to view the entire upper surface of the plate 21 without walking around the machine or materially changing his position.

The mechanism compartment I2 encloses approximately half of the cylinder I1 and a .cover H, hingedly secured to the compartment at 89, may be lowered to cover the upper half of the cylinder l1 during the trimming operation.

Four registering pointers I9 are adjustably supcorners of the printing plate 21.

ported on the upper edge of the compartment l2. Two of these pointers are disposed on one side of the cylinder 47 and the other two on the other side, as shown in Fig. 2. Each pointer I9 is clamped to a block 20 by a set screw 2! passing through a slot 22 in the pointer, and an adjustable screw 23 is provided in an angular offset end of the pointer to permit fine'adjustment. Each block 26 is clamped to and adjustable along a rod 24 fixed to the machine frame by brackets 25. The arrangement i such that each pointer i9 may be adjusted to lie closely adjacent a register point 25 near one of the The register points may comprise marks such as crossed lines formed on the plate when it is cast or if no such marks are provided, particular recognizable points in'the cut on the printing surface itself may be used for this purpose. It should be understood that each of the several printing plates used to print a given out are cast from similar matrices and that the register points 25 formed on the several plates are disposed 'in the same positions relative to the printed matter thereon.

The cylinder I1 is mounted co-axially on the carrier i8 and is provided with a raised portion 28 on its'upper surface, as shown in Fig. 4. A bar 29 is fixed to the surface of the cylinder ll parallel to its axis and, serves as a stop for engagement by one edge of the plate 21, as shown in Figs. 1, 6, 7 and 8. The plate may be conveniently positioned on the cylinder 18 by moving one side edge thereof into engagement with the bar 29, and movin the plate longitudinally of the cylinder until its end edges overlap the edges of the raised portion 28 by approximately equal amounts. When so positioned, the plate may be adjusted to exact register within the range of the adjusting mechanism hereinafter described.

The plate'is releasably held onto the surface of the cylinder I! by a pair of straps 36. The straps 30 are preferably somewhat flexible and are lined with a suitable soft material such as the felt pads 3| to avoid injury to the plate. One end of each strap 30 is pivotally secured to a hinge member 32 fixed to the cylinder IT at one side thereof and adjustable by means of the bolts 31 and 38 (Fig. '7). The other end of each strap 39 carries an arm 33 journaled to a crank 34 carried by a shaft 35 rotatably carried in journals 36 fixed to the cylinder ll (Figs. 3, 6, '7 and 8). By turning the shaft 35 clockwise, as shown in Figs. 6, '7 and 8, the cranks 34 are carried past the center of the shaft axis to a locked position in which the straps 30 firmly clamp the plate 21 down onto the surface of the cylinder H.

The described plate clamping mechanism is operated by a hand crank 39 on the front end of the machine. As shown in Fig. 3, this crank is fixed to a shaft 40 journaled in the wall of the compartment I2 and a crank 4| with a pin 42 at its end is fixed to the shaft 40 within the compartment. within the cylinder 11, is connected to the shaft 35 through the pinions M and 45. A crank 46 fixed to the end of the shaft 43 atv the front of the cylinder ll carries 'a pair of spaced lugs l! which receive the pin 42 therebetween when the cylinder is in its starting position, as shown in Figs. 6, 7 and 8. In this position, the. shaft l3 is aligned with the shaft 40. With the pin A shaft 53, suitably journaled shaft 35 counter-clockwise andso opening the straps 30, as shown in full lines in Fig. 6. Downward movement of the hand crank 39 to the position shown in broken lines in Fig. 6 rotatesthe shaft35 clockwise and closes the straps 30 to lock the plate 2? in place, as shown inbroken line in Fig. 6 and in full lines in Fig. 7'. With the mechanism in the locked position as shown in Fig. 7, rotation of the cylinder IT moves the "crank 39 may be moved upward, rotating the lugs 4'? out of engagement with the pin 12. With this construction, the cylinder I? cannot be moved from the starting position unless the plate is locked down onto it, and the straps 30 can be opened to release the plate 2? only when the cylinder I1 is in the starting position.

The cylinder I! has a hub 49 journaled on a hub to the carrier I8 adjacent the front end of the mechanism compartment, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The head 5! at the opposite end of the cylinder i7 is journaled on hub 5 2 of the carrier i8 asshown in'the same figures; The carrier hubs 55 and 52 are journaled respectively in suitable bearings .62 and 63""at the ends of the mechanism compartment i2.

The cylinder IT is rotatably adjustable rel ative to the carrier l8 by mechanism bestsho'wn in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. A hand Wheel 53 is fixedto a central shaft 54 and connected through a pair of miter gears 55 to drive a threaded shaft 56 and so move a nut 51 along a radial way '51 at the front end of the carrier 18 (Figs. 4 and 5). Log 58 on the nut 51 travels in a slot 59 in a circular plate 60 which is fixed to androtatably adjustable in the front end of the cylinder l1. By dis posing the not 59 at an'angle to the radial path This is accomplished by rotation 'of an external-I 1y threaded sleeve 54 in aninternally threaded member rotatably journaledivithin the 'hub 58 of the carrier 13. The member 65 is fixed against axial movement with regard to the carrier hub Eil-by end collars as shown in Fig. tend the outer collar 66 is held against rotationby akey 61 on a frame 68 secured tothe mechanism com.- partment E2. The threaded sleeve 65 is journaled in the frame 68 and fixed against axialmovement by a collar 69 within the frame and the hand wheel it outside of the frame. :Rotation of the wheel 'lil turns the sleeve 5% relative to the mem ber 35 and so moves the carrier l8 and the-cylinder mounted thereon axially in the compartment The ends of the printing plate carried on the cylinder H are trimmed by rotary cutters'li ad justably fixed to a shaft 13 which is journaled in bearings 74 fixed within the compartment, l2 (Figs. 1, 4' and 8),. Theshaft .13 extends through a journal' l5 in the rear wall of the compartment i2 and carries a driving pulley l6...

The longitudinal side edge' of the plate 2'! is trimmed by a rotary cutter Tl arranged to'both rotate and move longitudinally. of the plate as the cylinder I? is turned about its .axis. AS shown in Fig. 8, the cutter 11 is carried by a shaft 13 extending through a longitudinalslot 19 in Set screws 6! are provided the cylinder H. The shaft 18 is journaled in a traveler 8!] that is slidably mounted in suitable longitudinally extending guide grooves in the carrier IS. A long pitch screw 82 threadedly engages the traveler 80 and moves it longitudinally as hereinafter explained. The cutter shaft 11 is driven through the miter gears 83 and 84 from a center shaft '85 (Figs. 3 and 8). Slots 86 in the shaft 85 are slidably engaged by keys 81 in the miter gear 84 as shown in Fig. 8. The shaft 85 is journaled within the hub 52 of the carrier l8 and in a hub 88 adjacent the front end of the carrier as shown in Figs. 3 and 8. The shaft 85 is driven by the motor l6 through the belts 9E and pulley 9|.

The screw 82 is driven by a pinion 92 fixed to one end thereof and engaging an internal gear 93 which is journaled on the hub 94 of a gear 95 and is held against rotation by a slitting key 96 fixed to the wall of the compartment l2 as shown in Fig. 4. With this arrangement, rotation of the cylinder ll by the carrier I8 causes rotation of the long pitch screw 82 and thus moves the cutter Ti longitudinally along the edge H2 of the plate 21.

The cylinder H and carrier l8 are normally held in the starting position shown by engagement of a lug 97 in. a radial extension 98 of a circumferentialgroove 99 in the gear 95 (Figs. 3 and 9). The lug 97 is carried by an arm Hill fixed to a shaft IUI which passes through to the front of the mechanism compartment l2 and is there provided with an operating handle N32. The cylinder l1 and carrier l8 may be rotated through an arc somewhat greater than a half revolution by a hand crank I83 connected through a shaft I64 and a gear I05 to the gear 95. As shown in Fig. 3, the gear 95 is keyed to the hub 52 of the carrier 18 by a key I96. Rotation of the carrier l8 rotates the cylinder I1 carried thereby.

A guard or cover HIS! encloses the drive pulley llll of the motor l6 as well as the belts 9!] and the pulleys l6 and El which drive the cutter shafts as explained above. An idler pulley HI may be provided for maintaining proper tension on the belts 90.

In operating the described embodiment of the registering and trimming machine, a printing plate 2?, which serves as the key plate and which may comprise any one of the several plates of a set, is secured to the cylinder H on the raised portion 28 thereof with one side edge of the plate in contact with the bar 29 as shown in Fig. '7. The four pointers I9 are then adjusted until each is in register with the corresponding point 26 on the plate Tl. The operator then unlocks the mechanism by moving the handle m2 to the right as shown in Fig. 2, which lifts the lug 9? from the radial extension 93 of the groove 95 in the drive gear 95. The operator then starts the motor l6 and rotates the crank M13 in a clockwise direction which turns the cylinder ll counter-clockwise as shown in Fig. 8. During this rotation of the cylinder, the rotating cutter Tl moves along and trims the longitudinal side edge H2 of the plate 21 and the rotating cutters l2 trim the two end edges of the plate. When this trimming operation is completed, the operator turns the crank I03 counter-clockwise andso returns the mechanism to the starting position where it is stopped and locked by the lug 91 which falls by gravity into the radial groove extension 98.

The plate 21 is then removed from the machine, and one of the other plates of the set is placed on the cylinder I! and locked in place by operation of the handle i39 as above described. The operator then shifts the new plate circumferentially by manipulation of the hand wheel 53 and axially by manipulation of the hand Wheel Ill until the four register points of the new plate are in registry with the four pointers l9, whereupon the new plate is trimmed in'the manner described in connection with the first or key plate 21. This registering and trimming operation is then repeated with each of the remaining plates in turn, with the result that a complete set of plates, trimmed to exact register, is quickly and easily produced without any trial on the press and so without tying up press equipment or personnel. It should be noted that the construction and arrangement of the machine permits the operator to observe all of the register points of the plate while standing at the operating position in front of the machine with all of the controls within easy reach.

- Weclaim:

1. In a curved stereotype plate supporting mechanism, the combination with a carrier mounted to rotate about an axis, a plate carrying cylinder mounted on said carrier concentric with said axis, means for removably securing a curved stereotype plate to the surface of said cylinder, means for adjustably moving said cylinder circumferentially with respect to said'carrier, a plurality of fixed register pointers adjustably mounted adjacent the surface of said cylinder, and means for rotating said cylinder.

2. In a curved stereotype plate supporting mechanism, the combination of a fixed frame, a

carrier mounted on said frame to rotate about an axis, a cylinder on said carrier concentric with said axis, means for removably securing a stereotype plate to the surface of said cylinder, means for adjusting said cylinder circumferentially relative to said carrier and axially relative to said frame with said carrier, a plurality of register pointers adjustably mounted on said frame adjacent spaced points on said cylinder, and means for simultaneous rotating said cylinder and said carrier.

3. In a curved stereotype plate supporting mechanism, the combination of a fixed frame, a carrier mounted on said frame to rotate about an axis, a cylinder on said carrier concentric with said axis, means for rotating said carrier and said cylinder about said axis from a starting position, means on said cylinder for removably securing a curved stereotpye plate to the surface thereof, means on said frame for operating said securing means when said cylinder is stationary in the starting position, means for adjustably moving said cylinder circumferentially relative to said carrier, and a plurality of register pointers adjustably mounted on said frame adjacent spaced points on the surface of said cylinder.

4. In a curved stereotype plate supporting mechanism, the combination of a fixed frame, a carrier mounted on said frame to rotate about an axis, a cylinder on said carrier concentricwith said axis, means for rotating said carrier and said cylinder about said axis from a starting position, means on said cylinder for removably securing a curved stereotype plate to the surface thereof, means on said frame for operating said securing means when said cylinder is in the starting position, means for adjustably moving said cylinder circumferentially relative to said carrier, means for adjustably moving said carrier REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record m-th file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name a Date Huck Oct. 31, 1939 Tornberg July' 16, 1940 Smith Nov. 17, 1936 Strang Aug. 2'7, 1940 Isbell Oct. 8,1940 

